Bastrop High School's Jobs for America's Graduates program awarded at national conference

Tuesday

Jul 22, 2014 at 9:00 AM

Meghan Morris @BDE_Meghan

Bastrop High School's Jobs for America's Graduates program was recognized during the 31st Annual JAG National Conference.

The conference was held July 15 through 17 at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Fla. Bastrop High's JAG specialists Larry Green and Maurice Crowder were able to attend the conference on behalf of their program.

There were several speakers at the conference including Steve Pemberton, Divisional Vice-President and Chief Diversity Officer for Walgreens and author of “A Chance in the World.”

“The most interesting thing about him was that he was able to believe in himself and turn tragedy into triumph,” Green said. “I think his story is one worth sharing with my students.”

During the conference, awards were given out to to individual JAG programs and specialists that were shown to be helping in furthering the program's mission. Bastrop High's JAG program was recognized as one of the top programs in the state of Louisiana and ranked number two in the nation for its percentage of student success. Out of 700 schools, Bastrop High got the Aim High Second Place Championship Award. Both Green and Crowder each received an Outstanding JAG Specialist Award.

“I'm excited about the direction the JAG program is going, and I'm looking forward to starting the upcoming school year to see what great accomplishments the students will achieve in 2014-2015,” Green said.

“We'd like to thank Principal Dr. David Nordman for giving us a chance and letting us bring some positive things to Morehouse Parish,” Crowder said. “We'd like to see every school get a JAG program.”

Green and Crowder already have several ideas in mind for the upcoming year including a potential partnership with CenturyLink and a field trip to National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. for Black History Month.